We spent a beautiful week in Door County, Wisconsin, hanging a show at Chez
Cheryl, the gallery/studio of Cheryl Stidwell Parker, in Baileys Harbor.   It was a wonderful week to show art, enjoy time with friends, and relax in a very peaceful environment.  A great party was held at the gallery on Thursday night to showcase the art, eat delicious food, and meet new people.  Art has provided some great times for me, going places and meeting people I might never had the chance to meet if I was not an artist.

The new week will be another big adventure with the opening of the show at St. Mark's Lutheran gallery Friday night, August 24, in Des Moines.  The reception begins at 6:30 until 8.  I hope the predicted rain holds off, and not greet guests with a downpour as it did in Door County.  With that said, of course, we still need more rain to end the drought.

The threshing bee provided beautiful views with three steam engines plowing, pulling vintage plows, steam  belching from their engines.  Clouds began to build in the sky, lightning and thunder moved over the scene providing material for a great painting, if I could paint mechanical objects and storm clouds.  It would have been a perfect setting for Thomas Hart Benton.

The mixed media piece with kayaks, from my experience paddling on Goose Lake, is now finished and in the frame.  All pieces are ready to go to Door County, Wisconsin, at Chez Cheryl Artspace.  Postcards are addressed and stamped and ready for mailing.  The poster is designed and printed for the Des Moines show at St. Mark's Discipleship Gallery, postcards are ready for addressing.  Granddaughter Olivia will be arriving from Chicago on Saturday to stay the rest of the month, and the twins will arrive soon.  Life is good.

We had a great weekend in Davenport at the Mississippi River Blues Fest, with music, visits to artists' studios, The Figge Art Museum, and great food.  It was hot, but so was the music.  I visited with a photographer who has wonderful photos from around the world.  His specialty is bicycles, vintage and unusual.  We bought two prints with old bikes in interesting settings.  I told him about our Bike Festival and art shows in Jefferson.  In the same complex, I viewed some very nice encaustic paintings, which encourages me to get to work in that medium again, if only it were a few degrees cooler in my outdoor studio.  I will melt as fast as the wax.  The Figge featured a show of photos by David Plowdon who hung some of his work with us during a Bell Tower Art show a few years ago.  Local images included interiors of John Beltz's home, The Greene County Court House, and West Central Coop.  Also at the Figge was an exhibit called Wax Poetic, which I thought might be encaustic paintings with a lyrical look.  Actually, the gallery had prints to which poets (or any viewers) were to respond with poems about the art.  So, of course, I wrote a few on the spot, added them to the rings under each print. A professor from a nearby college which sponsored the show, came over with his clip board and interviewed me about my thoughts.  I told him about our PoeArtry show which we had at the Milwaukee Depot a few Bell Tower Art shows ago.  We are so in the groove her in Jefferson, IA.

Woman With Hat I

Busy Day in Fostrart Studio

The final mixed media piece #20 is now underway.  When this is complete and the blue jazz piece is finished, I will be free to create more encaustic paintings.  I can't wait to get back to that medium.  My encaustic painting, Art by Fire, sold at the Bell Tower Fesitval, and there is interest in a couple more.  It was a great show, and we all had a good time.  We were pleased to have Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack, who is running for the House of Representatives stop by.  Now I'm thinking Door County, Wisconsin, the next stop on this show tour.  We will open the show on August 5 with a reception on Thursday night, August 9.  It is a beautiful area, and I can't wait to have a show at Chez Cheryl Artspace.

The Bell Tower Art Show is hung at All Ability Cycles in Jefferson.  It looks great with some of the best work Greene County artists have ever shown.  We will be open until 9 p.m. Friday, noon until 9 Saturday, and 1to 4 p.m. on Sunday.  I changed my mind about what to show and now have three more new encaustics displayed.